WATCH LIVE NOW: Video Stream of BevNET Live Winter ’13, Day 1

BevNET Live Winter ’13 is finally here! Over 500 attendees have joined us for the two-day event, which is being held the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., and is the tenth consecutive sold-out BevNET Live conference.

For those of you unable to attend the show, we’ve made available a FREE high-definition video stream which begins at 8:00 a.m on Monday, Dec. 9 and will continue throughout the conference. The live broadcast will cover every presentation and panel, each of which is packed with expert insights and valuable information on current beverage trends.

Leading things off on Day 1 of BevNET Live will be the semifinal round of New Beverage Showdown 6. Twenty early-stage beverage companies will have two minutes to make their best “elevator pitch” to a panel of industry veterans and land a spot in the finals of the competition on Wednesday. On the line: a chance to win $10,000 in cash and prizes.

Next on the morning agenda are presentations from Suja CEO Jeff Church, who will discuss his experiences as a “serial entrepreneur,” followed by profiles on emerging retail and distribution opportunities. The day continues with an examination of new legal concerns and civil lawsuits affecting the beverage industry, a look at the effectiveness of a “co-creation” strategy for first year investment in beverage companies, and a presentation/discussion on the decline of CSDs and the $7 billion opportunity left in their wake.

Just before the lunch break, we’ll be announcing the six finalists of New Beverage Showdown 6 and unveil the winners of BevNET’s Best of Awards of 2013. The live video stream will return at 2:00 p.m. with a presentation on building a scalable sales force led by Mark Zettle, the Senior VP of Retail Sales for Voss Beverages, followed by a discussion on the best ways for beverage companies to build a successful relationship with a co-packer.

We’ll return to the livestream at 3:30 to conduct live interviews with some of the participating companies in the competition. We’ll also chat with a range of industry insiders, captains of industry and other attendees the Expo portion of BevNET Live, which runs until 5:30 p.m.